Once upon a time[3] there were three bears, who lived together in a house of their own in a wood. One of them was a little, small wee bear; one was a middle-sized bear, and the other was a great, huge bear. They had each a pot for their porridge, a little pot for the little, small wee bear and a middle-sized pot for the middle bear and a great pot for the great, huge bear. They each had a chair to sit in; a little chair for the little, small wee bear and a middle-sized chair for the middle bear and a great chair for the great, huge bear. And they had each a bed to sleep in; a little bed for the little, small wee bear and a middle-sized bed for the middle bear and a great bed for the great, huge bear.
One day, after they had made porridge for their breakfast, and poured it into their porridge pots, they walked out into the wood while the porridge was cooling, that they might not burn their mouths by beginning too soon to eat it. While they were walking, a little girl came into the house. This little girl had golden curls that tumbled down her back to her waist, and everyone called her by Goldilocks. Goldilocks had been walking through the woods on the way to visit her grandmother, but she had taken a shortcut and lost her way. After wandering around the woods for a very long time, and starting to despair of ever seeing her grandmamma or her parents again, she came across a little house. She was very relieved, because she was certain that whoever lived in the house would help her. You see, she did not know that the house belonged to the three bears.
Goldilocks went up to the house and knocked on the door, but nobody answered. After a while, she looked through the window and saw the porridge on the table that the bears had made for their breakfast. She said to herself: ‘Oh how I wish I could eat some of that porridge! I’m so very hungry.’
Now perhaps Goldilocks should have waited until the bears came home, and then, perhaps they would have asked her to breakfast – for they were good bears, although a little rough or so, as the manner of a bear is – but very good natured and hospitable. Goldilocks did something rather naughty instead. She tried the latch on the door of the house and found that it was open – because you see the bears didn’t expect that anyone would come along and steal their porridge, and so they hadn’t bothered to lock the door of the house when they went out. Goldilocks went inside. First she tasted the porridge of the great, huge bear, and that was too hot for her. Then she tasted the porridge of the middle bear, and that was too cold for her. Then she went to the porridge of the little, small wee bear, and tasted it. And that was neither too hot nor too cold, but just right; and she liked it so well, that she ate it all up.
Little Goldilocks then sat down in the chair of the great, huge bear, and that was too hard for her. So she sat down in the chair of the middle bear, but that was too soft for her. Then she sat down in the chair of the little, small wee bear, and that was neither too hard nor too soft, but just right. So she sat until the bottom of the chair came out, and down came she, plump upon the ground – and the naughty little girl laughed out loud.
Then Goldilocks went upstairs into the bed chamber in which the three bears slept. First she lay down upon the bed of the great, huge bear, but that was too high at the head for her. Next she lay down upon the bed of the middle bear, and that was too high at the foot for her. Finally she lay down upon the bed of the little, small wee bear, and that was neither too high at the head, nor at the foot, but just right. So she covered herself up comfortably, and lay there until she fell fast asleep.
By this time the three bears thought their porridge would be cool enough, so they came home to breakfast. Now naughty Goldilocks had left the spoon of the great, huge bear, standing in his porridge.
‘SOMEBODY HAS BEEN AT MY PORRIDGE!’
Growled the great, huge bear, in his great gruff voice. When the middle bear looked at his, he saw that the spoon was standing in it too. ‘Somebody has been at my porridge!’ said the middle bear, in his middle voice.
Then the little, small wee bear looked at his, and there was the spoon in the porridge pot, but the porridge was all gone.
‘Somebody has been at my porridge, and has eaten it all up!’ said the little, small wee bear, in his little, small wee voice.
Upon this the three bears, seeing that someone had entered their house, and eaten up the little, small wee bear’s breakfast, began to look about them. Now Goldilocks had not put the hard cushion straight when she arose from the chair of the great, huge bear. ‘SOMEBODY HAS BEEN SITTING IN MY CHAIR!’ said the great, huge bear, in his great, rough, gruff voice.
The little girl had squished down the soft cushion of the middle Bear. ‘Somebody has been sitting in my chair!’ said the middle bear, in his middle voice.
And you know what the naughty little girl had done to the third chair? ‘Somebody has been sitting in my chair, and has sat the bottom of it out!’ said the little, small wee bear, in his little, small, wee voice.
Then the three bears thought that they should look around the house more, so they went upstairs into their bedroom. Now Goldilocks had pulled the pillow of the great, huge bear out of its place.
‘SOMEBODY HAS BEEN LYING IN MY BED!’ said the great, huge bear, in his great, rough, gruff voice. Goldilocks had pulled the bed cover of the middle bear out of its place.
‘Somebody has been lying in my bed!’ said the middle bear, in his middle voice.
And when the small, wee bear came to look at his bed, there was the bed cover in its place, and the pillow in its place and the bolster. But on the pillow was a pool of golden curls, and the angelic face of a little girl snoring away, fast asleep.
‘Somebody has been lying in my bed, and here she is!’ Said the little, small wee bear, in his little, small wee voice.
Goldilocks heard in her sleep the great rough gruff voice of the great huge bear, but she was so fast asleep that it was no more to her than the roaring of wind or the rumbling of thunder. She had heard the voice of the middle, but it was as if she had only heard someone speaking in a dream. But when she heard the little, small wee voice of the little, small wee bear, it was so sharp and so shrill that it wakened her at once.
Up she started, and when she saw the three bears at one side of the bed she had the fright of her life. To tell you the truth, the bears were almost as alarmed by her as[4] she was by them.
Goldilocks jumped off the bed and ran downstairs, out of the door and down the garden path. She ran and she ran until she reached the house of her grandmama. When she told her grandmama about the house of the three bears who lived in the wood, her granny said: ‘My my, what a wild imagination you have, child!’
But Goldilocks knew that the story was true, and as for the three bears, whenever they went out of their wee house in the woods, they always locked the door in case Goldilocks came back and stole their porridge again. But they need not have worried about Goldilocks because, for as long as she lived she never took anything that didn’t belong to her – unless of course she had the permission of the owner.